Multi-Hop Small Cell Auto Discovery for Software Defined Networking-Enabled Radio Access Network

ABSTRACT

Concepts and technologies are described herein for multi-hop small cell auto discovery for software-defined networking (“SDN”)-enabled radio access networks (“RANs”). According to one aspect of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, a small cell RAN node can include a network backhaul link connected to a further small cell radio access network node operating within a RAN controlled, at least in part, by a SDN controller. The small cell RAN node can generate an enhanced OFDP multicast message that includes a SDN characteristic for the SDN controller to use, at least in part, to discover the small cell RA node as operational within the RAN. The small cell RAN node can send the enhanced OFDP multicast message over the network backhaul link in an attempt to provide the SDN characteristic to the SDN controller so SDN controller can discover the small cell RAN node as operational within the RAN.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, mobile telecommunications carriers have experienced adramatic increase in traffic, particularly data traffic, on theirnetworks, and this trend will likely continue. This increase in traffichas been caused in part by the increased adoption of smartphones andother devices that rely on mobile telecommunications networks, themigration of many customers from utilizing landline telecommunicationservices to utilizing mobile telecommunication services for theircommunications needs, and the use of multimedia such as streaming video,high-definition video games, and photo-intensive social media. To meetthe demands of higher traffic and to improve the end user experience,mobile telecommunications carriers are examining mechanisms by which toimprove network efficiency, network capacity, and the end userexperience, while keeping operational costs at a level conducive tomaintaining competitive rates for the services they provide.

Software-defined networking (“SDN”) is an architectural framework forcreating intelligent networks that are programmable, application aware,and more open. SDN provides an agile and cost-effective communicationsplatform for handling the dramatic increase in data traffic on carriernetworks by providing a high degree of scalability, security, andflexibility. SDN provides several benefits. SDNs can allow for thecreation of multiple, virtual network control planes on common hardware.SDN can help extend service virtualization and software control intomany existing network elements. SDN enables applications to request andmanipulate services provided by the network and allow the network toexpose network states back to the applications. SDN exposes networkcapabilities through application programming interfaces (“APIs”), makingthe control of network equipment remotely accessible and modifiable viathird-party software clients, using open protocols such as OpenFlow,available from Open Network Forum (“ONF”). Third Generation PartnershipProject (“3GPP”) and other standards bodies and industry forums arecurrently working to standardize SDN for use in multiple aspects offuture mobile telecommunications networks under fifth generation (“5G”)standards. In part, the radio access network (“RAN”) will be implementedusing SDN concepts.

Future RANs will provide a greater level of densification with thedeployment of small cells that utilize, for example, millimeter (“mm”)wave spectrum to offer higher data rates and user throughput to meet thebandwidth demand expected for 5G services. In the mm-wave range, thecell size is much smaller and the number of these smaller cells neededwill be much greater. A challenge of deploying such large numbers ofsmall cells lies in operations, and in particular, how to deploy largenumbers of small cells with automation instead of operations supportsystem (“OSS”) manual configuration. One important aspect of suchoperation is network discovery—that is, how added, deleted, or changedsmall cells can be automatically discovered to enable greatercollaboration among cells. Existing small cells and macro cells candiscover neighboring small cells by OSS manual configuration and/or byusing RF signal detection. This method of discovery allows a cell todiscover its immediate neighbor(s). Greater cross layer optimization canbe achieved because SDN has a global abstraction of both wire andwireless networks.

While the industry is moving towards leveraging SDN for RAN due to theflexible/programmable common control and higher degree of collaborationamong small cells, macro cells, and even among different radiotechnologies for the higher layer functions such as load balancing,mobility, interference mitigation, and the like, the existing localizednetwork listening discovery or OSS manual configuration will no longerfunction. This is because many of the small cells are not immediatelyconnected to the SDN controller and some are likely many hops away fromthe SDN controller.

SUMMARY

Concepts and technologies are described herein for multi-hop small cellauto discovery for SDN-enabled RANs. According to one aspect of theconcepts and technologies disclosed herein, a network system can includea network backhaul, a SDN controller; and a RAN. The RAN can include aplurality of RAN nodes, including an intermediate RAN node and a new RANnode that was added to the RAN. The new RAN node can generate anenhanced OFDP multicast message that includes a SDN characteristic. Thenew RAN node can send the enhanced OFDP multicast message over thenetwork backhaul in a first attempt to provide the SDN characteristic tothe SDN controller so that the SDN controller can discover the new RANnode as operational within the RAN. The intermediate RAN node canreceive the enhanced OFDP multicast message from the new RAN node viathe network backhaul. The intermediate RAN node can forward the enhancedOFDP multicast message over the network backhaul in a second attempt toprovide the SDN characteristic to the SDN controller so that the SDNcontroller can discover the new RAN node as operational within the RAN.The SDN controller can receive the multicast message and can update atopology table based, at least in part, upon the SDN characteristicincluded in the enhanced OFDP multicast message.

In some embodiments, the network backhaul is or includes a plurality ofwired backhaul links. In some other embodiments, the network backhaul isor includes a plurality of wireless backhaul links. The network backhaulcan include both wired and wireless backhaul links in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the plurality of RAN nodes also includes a furtherintermediate RAN node. The further intermediate RAN node can receive theenhanced OFDP multicast message from the new RAN node via the networkbackhaul. The further intermediate RAN node can forward the enhancedOFDP multicast message over the network backhaul in a third attempt toprovide the SDN characteristic to the SDN controller so that the SDNcontroller can discover the new RAN node as operational within the RAN.The network system can include any number of intermediate RAN nodes. Theintermediate RAN node(s) can be or can include small cell RAN nodes,macro cell RAN nodes, or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the new RAN node is or includes a small cell node.In these embodiments, the small cell node can operate within amillimeter (“mm”) wave frequency spectrum.

According to another aspect of the concepts and technologies disclosedherein, a small cell RAN node can include a network backhaul linkconnected to a further small cell radio access network node operatingwithin a RAN controlled, at least in part, by a SDN controller. Thesmall cell RAN node can generate an enhanced OFDP multicast message thatincludes a SDN characteristic for the SDN controller to use, at least inpart, to discover the small cell RA node as operational within the RAN.The small cell RAN node can send the enhanced OFDP multicast messageover the network backhaul link in an attempt to provide the SDNcharacteristic to the SDN controller so SDN controller can discover thesmall cell RAN node as operational within the RAN. The small cell RANnode can include a transceiver that operates, for example, within a mmwave frequency spectrum.

It should be appreciated that the above-described subject matter may beimplemented as a computer-controlled apparatus, a computer process, acomputing system, or as an article of manufacture such as acomputer-readable storage medium. These and various other features willbe apparent from a reading of the following Detailed Description and areview of the associated drawings.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intendedthat this Summary be used to limit the scope of the claimed subjectmatter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited toimplementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part ofthis disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating aspects of an illustrativenetwork system in which various aspects of the concepts and technologiesdisclosed herein can be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating aspects of a method forimplementing multi-hop small cell auto discovery for SDN-enabled RAN,according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a table illustrating aspects of a RAN topology for use by aSDN controller, according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer systemcapable of implementing aspects of the embodiments presented herein.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example mobile device capableof implementing aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a network, according to an illustrativeembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Concepts and technologies are described herein for multi-hop small cellauto discovery for SDN-enabled RANs. The concepts and technologiesdescribed herein leverage and enhance open flow discovery protocol(“OFDP”) to solve the larger scaled network discovery and dynamiccollaborative controls to enable dynamic programmability for variousoptimization practices. Multi-hop small cell auto discovery forSDN-enabled RANs can include in-band and out-of-band signaling.

According to one aspect of the concepts and technologies disclosedherein, each mobile network node, such as a small cell, a macro cell, aWI-FI access point (“AP”), or a SDN controller implements an OFDP agent.When a new RAN node, such as a small cell, is added to the RAN, the newRAN node sends an enhanced OFDP multicast message using an IP multicastaddress, which includes information such as IP address, radio accesstechnology (“RAT”), location, power, and any other characteristics ofthe new RAN node that can be used by the SDN for intelligent mobilitycontrol and coordination among cells of the RAN. The new RAN node cansend the enhanced OFDP multicast message over a wired or wirelessbackhaul link. Any intermediate RAN node that receives the multicast IPaddress can forward the enhanced OFDP multicast message to the next hopusing the wired or wireless backhaul link. This process is repeateduntil the enhanced OFDP multicast message is received by the SDNcontroller. In response, the SDN controller can update a topology tablebased upon information included in the enhanced OFDP multicast message.In addition, a keepalive (“KA”) message can be sent by the RAN nodes toinform the SDN controller of the status of various states of the RANnodes. The concepts and technologies disclosed herein can be applied tooptical network auto discovery functions. The concepts and technologiesdisclosed herein can be applied to RATs such as, but not limited to, 4GRATs, 5G RATs, WI-FI, and the like, because OFDP is link layerindependent.

While the subject matter described herein may be presented, at times, inthe general context of program modules that execute in conjunction withthe execution of an operating system and application programs on acomputer system, those skilled in the art will recognize that otherimplementations may be performed in combination with other types ofprogram modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,components, data structures, computer-executable instructions, and/orother types of structures that perform particular tasks or implementparticular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art willappreciate that the subject matter described herein may be practicedwith other computer system, including hand-held devices, mobile devices,wireless devices, multiprocessor systems, distributed computing systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, routers, switches, other computingdevices described herein, and the like.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown byway of illustration specific embodiments or examples. Referring now tothe drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements throughoutthe several figures, example aspects of traffic steering acrosscell-types will be presented.

Referring now to FIG. 1, aspects of an illustrative network system 100in which various aspects of the concepts and technologies disclosedherein can be implemented will be described. It should be understoodthat the operating environment 100 and the various components thereofhave been greatly simplified for purposes of discussion. Accordingly,additional or alternative components of the operating environment 100can be made available without departing from the embodiments describedherein.

The operating environment 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality ofuser equipment (“UE”) devices 102A-102N (hereinafter referred tocollectively or generally as “UEs 102”) that are each capable ofconnecting to and communicating with one or more radio access networks(“RANs”) 104-104N (hereinafter referred to collectively or generally as“RANs 104”) to carry out voice and/or data communications with one ormore other UEs, computers, servers, networking devices, and/or othernetworks (not shown). Each of the UEs 102 may be a cellular phone, afeature phone, a smartphone, a mobile computing device, a tabletcomputing device, a portable television, a portable video game console,or any other computing device that includes one or more radio accesscomponents that are capable of connecting to and communicating with oneor more of the RANs 104 via one or more communications components (bestshown in FIG. 5). Each of the RANs 104 can include a plurality of cells.As used herein, a “cell” refers to a geographical area that is served byone or more base stations operating within a RAN. As used herein, a“base station” refers to a radio receiver and/or transmitter(collectively, transceiver) that is/are configured to provide aradio/air interface over which one or more of the UEs 102 can utilizeone or more communications components to connect to a network, such asan evolved packet core (“EPC”) network 106. A base station can includeone or more base transceiver stations (“BTSs”), one or more Node-Bs, oneor more eNode-Bs, one or more home eNode-Bs, one or more wireless accesspoints (“APs”), one or more multi-standard metro cell (“MSMC”) nodes,and/or other networking nodes that are capable of providing a radio/airinterface regardless of the technologies utilized to do so. A basestation can be in communication with one or more antennas (not shown),each of which may be configured in accordance with any antenna designspecifications to provide a physical interface for receiving andtransmitting radio waves to and from one or more devices, such as theUEs 102 and, according to embodiments, each other.

The cells within the RANs 104 can include the same or different cellsizes, which may be represented by different cell-types. A cell-type canbe associated with certain dimensional characteristics that define theeffective radio range of a cell. Cell-types can include, but are notlimited to, a macro cell-type, a metro cell-type, a femto cell-type, apico cell-type, a micro cell-type, wireless local area network (“WLAN”)cell-type, a MSMC cell-type, and a white space network cell-type. Forease of explanation, a “small cell” cell-type is utilized herein tocollectively refer to a group of cell-types that includes femtocell-type (e.g., home eNode-B), pico cell-type, and micro cell-type, ingeneral contrast to a macro cell-type, which offers a larger coveragearea. Other cell-types, including proprietary cell-types and temporarycell-types are also contemplated.

A cell-type can additionally represent the radio access technology(“RAT”) utilized by a cell. A RAT can be or can include technologiesthat operate in accordance with one or more mobile telecommunicationsstandards including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobilecommunications (“GSM”), Code Division Multiple Access (“CDMA”) ONE,CDMA2000, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (“UMTS”), Long-TermEvolution (“LTE”), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(“WiMAX”), other 802.XX technologies, and/or the like. A RAT can utilizevarious channel access methods (which may or may not be used by theaforementioned standards), including, but not limited to, Time DivisionMultiple Access (“TDMA”), Frequency Division Multiple Access (“FDMA”),CDMA, wideband CDMA (“W-CDMA”), Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (“OFDM”), Single-Carrier FDMA (“SC-FDMA”), Space DivisionMultiple Access (“SDMA”), and the like to provide a radio/air interfaceto the mobile device 102. Data communications can be provided in part bya RAN using General Packet Radio Service (“GPRS”), Enhanced Data ratesfor Global Evolution (“EDGE”), the High-Speed Packet Access (“HSPA”)protocol family including High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (“HSDPA”),Enhanced Uplink (“EUL”) or otherwise termed High-Speed Uplink PacketAccess (“HSUPA”), Evolved HSPA (“HSPA+”), LTE, and/or various othercurrent and future wireless data access technologies. Moreover, a RANmay be a GSM RAN (“GRAN”), a GSM EDGE RAN (“GERAN”), a UMTS TerrestrialRadio Access Network (“UTRAN”), an evolved U-TRAN (“E-UTRAN”), anycombination thereof, and/or the like.

In addition to the aforementioned second generation (“2G”), thirdgeneration (“3G”), and fourth generation (“4G”) RATs, the RANs 104disclosed herein can operate in accordance with current draft fifthgeneration (“5G”) specifications and official 5G specifications as thesebecome available. For example, the RANs 104 can utilize base stationsthat operate within a millimeter (“mm”)-wave frequency spectrum. In someembodiments, the RANs 104 can provide a pool of wireless spectrumresources that can be controlled by a SDN controller 108 operatingwithin or in communication with the EPC network 106. Although the SDNcontroller 108 is illustrated as operating within the EPC network 106,the SDN controller 108, or at least a portion thereof, can operatewithin one or more of the RANs 104. Moreover, in some embodiments, eachof the RANs 104 might have an associated SDN controller 108.

The EPC network 106 can include a serving gateway (“SGW”) function,packet data network (“PDN”) gateway (“PGW”) function, or a combinationS/PGW function, a mobility management entity (“MME”), and a homesubscriber server (“HSS”). The SGW function can serve the UEs 102 byrouting incoming and outgoing IP packets. The SGW function also canprovide an anchor point for intra-LTE mobility (e.g., handover betweeneNodeBs operating within the RANs 104) and an anchor point between theRANs 104. The PGW function can interact with the EPC network 106 and oneor more PDNs (not shown). The PDN gateway function also performs IPaddress/IP prefix allocation, policy control, and charging operations.The MME controls signaling related to mobility and security for E-UTRANaccess, such as via the RANs 104, by the UEs 102. The MME can track andpage the UEs 102 in idle-mode. The HSS is a database that containsuser/subscriber information. The HSS also performs operations to supportmobility management, call and session setup, user authentication, andaccess authorization.

The SDN controller 108 can, on-demand, allocate wireless spectrumresources to a plurality of RAN nodes 112 operating within the RANs 104.In the illustrated embodiment, the plurality of RAN nodes 112 operatingwithin in the RAN 104 includes a macro cell node (“A”) 114 and aplurality of small cell nodes 116A-116F (“a1” through “a6”). The RAN104N includes another macro cell node (“N”) 114N. The macro cell node A114 and the plurality of small cell nodes 116A-116F can be connected viaa wired backhaul 118 and/or a wireless backhaul 120, examples of eachare labeled in the illustrated embodiment. The wired backhaul 118 can beor can include one or more physical links made, at least in part, offiber-optic cabling, coaxial cabling, twisted pair cabling, or somecombination thereof. It should be understood that these types ofphysical linkage are merely exemplary and other types of physicallinkage may be used to connect at least a portion of the plurality ofRAN nodes 112 operating within the RANs 104. The wireless backhaul 120can be or can include one or more radio links operating, at least inpart, in accordance with one or more RAT such as, for example, one ormore the illustrative RATs described above. It also should be understoodthat these types of radio links are merely exemplary and other types ofradio links may be used to connect at least a portion of the pluralityof RAN nodes 112 operating within the RANs 104.

The SDN controller 108 can utilize OpenFlow protocols, available fromOpen Networking Foundation, to control operations performed by theplurality of RAN nodes 112 operating within the RANs 104. The SDNcontroller 108 can utilize OpenFlow discovery protocol (“OFDP”) todiscover RAN nodes added to the RANs 104. In some implementations, theRANs 104 can provide a greater level of densification with thedeployment of small cell nodes that utilize, for example, mm-wavespectrum to offer higher data rates and user throughput to meet thebandwidth demand expected for 5G services. In the mm-wave range, thecell size is much smaller and the number of these smaller cells neededwill be much greater. A challenge of deploying such large numbers ofsmall cells lies in operations, and in particular, how to deploy largenumbers of small cells with automation instead of operations supportsystem (“OSS”) manual configuration. The concepts and technologiesdisclosed herein leverage and enhance existing OFDP to solve this largerscaled network discovery problem. Although the concepts and technologiesdisclosed herein are particularly useful for implementations in whichthe density of cells is high, such as in small cell nodes that operatewithin mm-wave frequency spectrum, the concepts and technologiesdisclosed herein are equally applicable to other cell-types disclosedherein.

After a small cell node is added to the RAN 104, the SDN controller 108is tasked with discovering the node as operational within the RAN 104.In the illustrated example, the small cell node 116F is newly added tothe RAN 104. When the small cell node 116F is added to the RAN 104, thesmall cell node 116F can generate an enhanced OFDP multicast message 122using an IP multicast address. In current form, OFDP provides supportfor Ethernet and L2 multicast. The concepts and technologies describedhere extend the OFDP to support IP multicast over wireless and wireline.The enhanced OFDP multicast message 122 can include information referredto herein as SDN characteristics 124. The SDN characteristics 124 can beor can include IP address, RAT, location, power, and any othercharacteristics of the small cell node 116F. Similarly, any other RANnodes added to the RANs 104 can generate similar messages including SDNcharacteristics such as those described above but particular to thecharacteristics thereof.

The small cell node 116F can send the enhanced OFDP multicast message122 over the wired backhaul 118 and/or the wireless backhaul link 120.Any intermediate RAN node that receives the multicast IP address 122 canforward the enhanced OFDP multicast message 122 to the next hop usingother links of the wired backhaul 118 and/or the wireless backhaul link120. In the illustrated example, the small cell node 116F can send themulticast IP address 122 to the small cell node a3 116C, which acts asan intermediate RAN node, via one of a plurality of hops 126A-126G. Thesmall cell node a3 116C, in turn, can forward the multicast IP address122 to the small cell node a4 116B via hop 126B and the small cell nodea5 116E via the hop 126C. This process is repeated until the multicastIP message 124 is received by the SDN controller 108. In response, theSDN controller 108 can update a topology table 128 based upon the SDNcharacteristic(s) 124 included in the enhanced OFDP multicast message122. The topology table 128 is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 3and will be described with an example data set herein below withreference to that FIGURE.

In some embodiments, a RAN node added to the RAN 104 can additionallygenerate a keepalive (“KA”) message (not shown in the illustratedembodiment) and can send the KA message to the SDN controller 108 toinform the SDN controller 108 of the status of the RAN node. Forexample, the KA message can indicate whether the RAN node is operatingin an “ON” state or is currently in an “OFF” state. In response, the SDNcontroller 108 can update the topology table 128 to reflect any changesin status of the RAN node.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a method 200 for implementing multi-hop smallcell auto discovery for a SDN-enabled RAN, such as one of the RANs 104,will be described, according to an illustrative embodiment. It should beunderstood that the operations of the illustrative methods disclosedherein are not necessarily presented in any particular order and thatperformance of some or all of the operations in an alternative order(s)is possible and is contemplated. The operations have been presented inthe demonstrated order for ease of description and illustration.Operations may be combined, separated, added, omitted, modified, and/orperformed simultaneously or in another order without departing from thescope of the subject disclosure.

It also should be understood that the illustrated methods can be endedat any time and need not be performed in their entirety. Some or alloperations of the methods, and/or substantially equivalent operations,can be performed by execution of computer-executable instructionsincluded on a computer-readable storage media, as defined below. Theterm “computer-executable instructions,” and variants thereof, as usedin the description and claims, is used expansively herein to includeroutines, application programs, software, application modules, programmodules, components, data structures, algorithms, and the like.Computer-executable instructions can be implemented on various systemconfigurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor systems,distributed computing systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers,personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based,programmable consumer electronics, network nodes, combinations thereof,and the like.

Thus, it should be appreciated that the logical operations describedherein may be implemented (1) as a sequence of computer implemented actsor program modules running on a computing system and/or (2) asinterconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within thecomputing system. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent onthe performance and other requirements of the computing system.Accordingly, the logical operations described herein are referred tovariously as states, operations, structural devices, acts, or modules.These operations, structural devices, acts, and modules may beimplemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic,and any combination thereof.

The method 200 includes operations performed by RAN nodes, such as themacro cell node A 114, one or more small cell RAN nodes of the pluralityof small cell RAN nodes 116A-116E, the SDN controller 108 via execution,by one or more processors, of one or more software program modules orapplications (best shown in FIG. 4). The method 200 will be describedwith additional reference to FIG. 1.

The method 200 begins and proceeds to operation 202, where a new RANnode, such as the small cell RAN node a6 116F, is added to the RAN 104.From operation 202, the method 200 proceeds to operation 204, where thenew RAN node generates a multicast IP message, such as the enhanced OFDPmulticast message 122 including the SDN characteristics 124. Fromoperation 204, the method 200 proceeds to operation 206, where the newRAN node sends the enhanced OFDP multicast message 122 over a networkbackhaul, such as the wired backhaul 118 and/or the wireless backhaul120 to an intermediate RAN node, such as the small cell RAN node a5116E.

From operation 206, the method 200 proceeds to operation 208, where theintermediate RAN node receives the enhanced OFDP multicast message 122from the new RAN node. From operation 208, the method 200 proceeds tooperation 210, where the intermediate RAN node (only one in thisexample, but can be for each intermediate RAN node) forwards theenhanced OFDP multicast message 122.

From operation 210, the method 200 proceeds to operation 212, where theSDN controller 108 determines whether the enhanced OFDP multicastmessage 122 has been received. If not, the method 200 returns tooperation 208. If, however, the SDN controller 108 determines that theenhanced OFDP multicast message 122 has been received, then the enhancedOFDP multicast message 122 has made all hops and, accordingly, themethod 200 proceeds to operation 214. At operation 214, the SDNcontroller 108 updates a topology table, such as the topology table 128,based upon the SDN characteristics 126 included in the enhanced OFDPmulticast message 122. From operation 214, the method 200 proceeds tooperation 216. The method 200 ends at operation 216.

Turning now to FIG. 3, the topology table 128 is illustrated withexample data representative of a RAN topology, such as a topology of theRAN 104, for use by a SDN controller, such as the SDN controller 108,will be described, according to an illustrative embodiment. Theillustrated topology table 128 includes a plurality of columns and aplurality of rows. The plurality of columns include an identifier (“ID”)column 300, a topology profile column 302, an IP address column 304, atopology backhaul characteristics column 306, a status column 308, andother SDN characteristics column 310. The ID column 300 can include IDsfor each RAN node in the topology. The topology profile column 302 caninclude a topology profile for each RAN node in the topology. The IPaddress column 304 can include an IP address for each RAN node in thetopology. The topology backhaul characteristics column 306 can identifythe backhaul technology type(s), frequency range, and othercharacteristics of the backhaul utilized by each RAN node in thetopology. The status column 308 can include a status indicative ofwhether each RAN node in the topology is “ON” indicative of the RAN nodecurrently operating within the RAN or “OFF” indicative of the RAN nodenot currently operating within the RAN. The other SDN characteristicscolumn 310 can include location, power, and any other SDNcharacteristics associated with each RAN node in the topology.

In the illustrated embodiment, a first row 312 includes data associatedwith the macro node A 114; a second row 314 includes data associatedwith the small cell node a4 116D; a third row 316 includes dataassociated with the small cell node a3 116C; and a fourth row 318includes data associated with the small cell node a6 116F. Inimplementation, the topology table 128 can include data associated witheach RAN node in the topology. When a new RAN node is added to the RANtopology, the SDN controller 108 can receive an enhanced OFDP multicastmessage that includes SDN characteristics for the new RAN node and canupdate the topology table 128 to include the SDN characteristics. Forexample, when the small cell node a6 116F is added to the RAN topology,the SDN controller 108 can update the topology table 128 to include theSDN characteristics 124 included in the enhanced OFDP multicast message122.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a computer system 400 configuredto provide the functionality in accordance with various embodiments ofthe concepts and technologies disclosed herein. In some implementations,the UEs 102, components of the RANs 104-104N, components of the EPCnetwork 106, the SDN controller 108, one or more of the plurality of RANnodes 112 or portions thereof, other components described herein, or anycombination thereof can utilize an architecture that is the same as orsimilar to the architecture of the computer system 400, or a modifiedversion thereof. It should be understood, however, that modification tothe architecture may be made to facilitate certain interactions amongelements described herein.

The computer system 400 includes a processing unit 402, a memory 404,one or more user interface devices 406, one or more input/output (“I/O”)devices 408, and one or more network devices 410, each of which isoperatively connected to a system bus 412. The bus 412 enablesbi-directional communication between the processing unit 402, the memory404, the user interface devices 406, the I/O devices 408, and thenetwork devices 410.

The processing unit 402 may be a standard central processor thatperforms arithmetic and logical operations, a more specific purposeprogrammable logic controller (“PLC”), a programmable gate array, asystem-on-a-chip, or other type of processor known to those skilled inthe art and suitable for controlling the operation of the servercomputer. Processing units are generally known, and therefore are notdescribed in further detail herein.

The memory 404 communicates with the processing unit 402 via the systembus 412. In some embodiments, the memory 404 is operatively connected toa memory controller (not shown) that enables communication with theprocessing unit 402 via the system bus 412. The memory 404 includes anoperating system 414 and one or more program modules 416. The operatingsystem 414 can include, but is not limited to, members of the WINDOWS,WINDOWS CE, and/or WINDOWS MOBILE families of operating systems fromMICROSOFT CORPORATION, the LINUX family of operating systems, theSYMBIAN family of operating systems from SYMBIAN LIMITED, the BREWfamily of operating systems from QUALCOMM CORPORATION, the MAC OS, iOS,and/or LEOPARD families of operating systems from APPLE CORPORATION, theFREEBSD family of operating systems, the SOLARIS family of operatingsystems from ORACLE CORPORATION, other operating systems, and the like.

The program modules 416 may include various software and/or programmodules to perform the various operations described herein. The programmodules 416 and/or other programs can be embodied in computer-readablemedia containing instructions that, when executed by the processing unit402, perform the method 200 or at least a portion thereof, described indetail above with respect to FIG. 2. According to embodiments, theprogram modules 416 may be embodied in hardware, software, firmware, orany combination thereof.

By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media mayinclude any available computer storage media or communication media thatcan be accessed by the computer system 400. Communication media includescomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, orother data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or othertransport mechanism and includes any delivery media. The term “modulateddata signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristicschanged or set in a manner as to encode information in the signal. Byway of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wiredmedia such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wirelessmedia such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.Combinations of the any of the above should also be included within thescope of computer-readable media.

Computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but isnot limited to, RAM, ROM, Erasable Programmable ROM (“EPROM”),Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (“EEPROM”), flash memory or othersolid state memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (“DVD”),or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich can be used to store the desired information and which can beaccessed by the computer system 400. In the claims, the phrase “computerstorage medium” and variations thereof does not include waves or signalsper se and/or communication media.

The user interface devices 406 may include one or more devices withwhich a user accesses the computer system 400. The user interfacedevices 406 may include, but are not limited to, computers, servers,personal digital assistants, cellular phones, or any suitable computingdevices. The I/O devices 408 enable a user to interface with the programmodules 416. In one embodiment, the I/O devices 408 are operativelyconnected to an I/O controller (not shown) that enables communicationwith the processing unit 402 via the system bus 412. The I/O devices 408may include one or more input devices, such as, but not limited to, akeyboard, a mouse, or an electronic stylus. Further, the I/O devices 408may include one or more output devices, such as, but not limited to, adisplay screen or a printer.

The network devices 410 enable the computer system 400 to communicatewith other networks or remote systems via a network 418, which caninclude, for example, the RANs 104-104N and the EPC network 106.Examples of the network devices 410 include, but are not limited to, amodem, a radio frequency (“RF”) or infrared (“IR”) transceiver, atelephonic interface, a bridge, a router, or a network card. The network418 may include a wireless network such as, but not limited to, awireless local area network (“WLAN”), a wireless wide area network(“WWAN”), a wireless personal area network (“WPAN”) such as provided viaBLUETOOTH technology, a wireless metropolitan area network (“WMAN”) suchas a WiMAX network or metropolitan cellular network. Alternatively, thenetwork 418 may be a wired network such as, but not limited to, a widearea network (“WAN”), a wired LAN such as provided via Ethernet, a wiredpersonal area network (“PAN”), or a wired metropolitan area network(“MAN”).

Turning now to FIG. 5, an illustrative mobile device 500 and componentsthereof will be described. In some embodiments, the UEs 102 describedabove with reference to FIG. 1 can be configured as and/or can have anarchitecture similar or identical to the mobile device 500 describedherein in FIG. 5. It should be understood, however, that the UEs 102 mayor may not include the functionality described herein with reference toFIG. 5. While connections are not shown between the various componentsillustrated in FIG. 5, it should be understood that some, none, or allof the components illustrated in FIG. 5 can be configured to interactwith one other to carry out various device functions. In someembodiments, the components are arranged so as to communicate via one ormore busses (not shown). Thus, it should be understood that FIG. 5 andthe following description are intended to provide a generalunderstanding of a suitable environment in which various aspects ofembodiments can be implemented, and should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the mobile device 500 can include a display502 for displaying data. According to various embodiments, the display502 can be configured to display various graphical user interface(“GUI”) elements, text, images, video, advertisements, prompts, virtualkeypads and/or keyboards, messaging data, notification messages,metadata, internet content, device status, time, date, calendar data,device preferences, map and location data, combinations thereof, and thelike. The mobile device 500 also can include a processor 504 and amemory or other data storage device (“memory”) 506. The processor 504can be configured to process data and/or can execute computer-executableinstructions stored in the memory 506. The computer-executableinstructions executed by the processor 504 can include, for example, anoperating system 508, one or more applications 510, othercomputer-executable instructions stored in a memory 506, or the like. Insome embodiments, the applications 510 also can include a UI application(not illustrated in FIG. 5).

The UI application can interface with the operating system 508 tofacilitate user interaction with functionality and/or data stored at themobile device 500 and/or stored elsewhere. In some embodiments, theoperating system 508 can include a member of the SYMBIAN OS family ofoperating systems from SYMBIAN LIMITED, a member of the WINDOWS MOBILEOS and/or WINDOWS PHONE OS families of operating systems from MICROSOFTCORPORATION, a member of the PALM WEBOS family of operating systems fromHEWLETT PACKARD CORPORATION, a member of the BLACKBERRY OS family ofoperating systems from RESEARCH IN MOTION LIMITED, a member of the IOSfamily of operating systems from APPLE INC., a member of the ANDROID OSfamily of operating systems from GOOGLE INC., and/or other operatingsystems. These operating systems are merely illustrative of somecontemplated operating systems that may be used in accordance withvarious embodiments of the concepts and technologies described hereinand therefore should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The UI application can be executed by the processor 504 to aid a user inentering content, viewing account information, answering/initiatingcalls, entering/deleting data, entering and setting user IDs andpasswords for device access, configuring settings, manipulating addressbook content and/or settings, multimode interaction, interacting withother applications 510, and otherwise facilitating user interaction withthe operating system 508, the applications 510, and/or other types orinstances of data 512 that can be stored at the mobile device 500.

According to various embodiments, the applications 510 can include, forexample, presence applications, visual voice mail applications,messaging applications, text-to-speech and speech-to-text applications,add-ons, plug-ins, email applications, music applications, videoapplications, camera applications, location-based service applications,power conservation applications, game applications, productivityapplications, entertainment applications, enterprise applications,combinations thereof, and the like. The applications 510, the data 512,and/or portions thereof can be stored in the memory 506 and/or in afirmware 514, and can be executed by the processor 504. The firmware 514also can store code for execution during device power up and power downoperations. It can be appreciated that the firmware 514 can be stored ina volatile or non-volatile data storage device including, but notlimited to, the memory 506 and/or a portion thereof.

The mobile device 500 also can include an input/output (“I/O”) interface516. The I/O interfaced 516 can be configured to support theinput/output of data such as location information, user information,organization information, presence status information, user IDs,passwords, and application initiation (start-up) requests. In someembodiments, the I/O interface 516 can include a hardwire connectionsuch as USB port, a mini-USB port, a micro-USB port, an audio jack, aPS2 port, an IEEE 1394 (“FIRE WIRE”) port, a serial port, a parallelport, an Ethernet (RJ54) port, an RJ11 port, a proprietary port,combinations thereof, or the like. In some embodiments, the mobiledevice 500 can be configured to synchronize with another device totransfer content to and/or from the mobile device 500. In someembodiments, the mobile device 500 can be configured to receive updatesto one or more of the applications 510 via the I/O interface 516, thoughthis is not necessarily the case. In some embodiments, the I/O interface516 accepts I/O devices such as keyboards, keypads, mice, interfacetethers, printers, plotters, external storage, touch/multi-touchscreens, touch pads, trackballs, joysticks, microphones, remote controldevices, displays, projectors, medical equipment (e.g., stethoscopes,heart monitors, and other health metric monitors), modems, routers,external power sources, docking stations, combinations thereof, and thelike. It should be appreciated that the I/O interface 516 may be usedfor communications between the mobile device 500 and a network device orlocal device.

The mobile device 500 also can include a communications component 518.The communications component 518 can be configured to interface with theprocessor 504 to facilitate wired and/or wireless communications withone or more networks described above herein. In some embodiments, othernetworks include networks that utilize non-cellular wirelesstechnologies such as WI-FI or WIMAX. In some embodiments, thecommunications component 518 includes a multimode communicationssubsystem for facilitating communications via the cellular network andone or more other networks.

The communications component 518, in some embodiments, includes one ormore transceivers. The one or more transceivers, if included, can beconfigured to communicate over the same and/or different wirelesstechnology standards with respect to one another. For example, in someembodiments one or more of the transceivers of the communicationscomponent 518 may be configured to communicate using GSM, CDMA, CDMAONE,CDMA2000, LTE, and various other 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, 5G and greatergeneration technology standards. Moreover, the communications component518 may facilitate communications over various channel access methods(which may or may not be used by the aforementioned standards)including, but not limited to, TDMA, FDMA, W-CDMA, OFDM, SDMA, and thelike.

In addition, the communications component 518 may facilitate datacommunications using GPRS, EDGE, the HSPA protocol family, includingHSDPA, EUL, or otherwise termed HSUPA, HSPA+, and various other currentand future wireless data access standards. In the illustratedembodiment, the communications component 518 can include a firsttransceiver (“TxRx”) 520A that can operate in a first communicationsmode (e.g., GSM). The communications component 518 also can include anN^(th) transceiver (“TxRx”) 520N that can operate in a secondcommunications mode relative to the first transceiver 520A (e.g., UMTS).While two transceivers 520A-N (hereinafter collectively and/orgenerically referred to as “transceivers 520”) are shown in FIG. 5, itshould be appreciated that less than two, two, and/or more than twotransceivers 520 can be included in the communications component 518.

The communications component 518 also can include an alternativetransceiver (“Alt TxRx”) 522 for supporting other types and/or standardsof communications. According to various contemplated embodiments, thealternative transceiver 522 can communicate using various communicationstechnologies such as, for example, WI-FI, WIMAX, BLUETOOTH, infrared,IRDA, NFC, other RF technologies, combinations thereof, and the like.

In some embodiments, the communications component 518 also canfacilitate reception from terrestrial radio networks, digital satelliteradio networks, internet-based radio service networks, combinationsthereof, and the like. The communications component 518 can process datafrom a network such as the Internet, an intranet, a broadband network, aWI-FI hotspot, an Internet service provider (“ISP”), a digitalsubscriber line (“DSL”) provider, a broadband provider, combinationsthereof, or the like.

The mobile device 500 also can include one or more sensors 524. Thesensors 524 can include temperature sensors, light sensors, air qualitysensors, movement sensors, orientation sensors, noise sensors, proximitysensors, or the like. As such, it should be understood that the sensors524 can include, but are not limited to, accelerometers, magnetometers,gyroscopes, infrared sensors, noise sensors, microphones, combinationsthereof, or the like. Additionally, audio capabilities for the mobiledevice 500 may be provided by an audio I/O component 526. The audio I/Ocomponent 526 of the mobile device 500 can include one or more speakersfor the output of audio signals, one or more microphones for thecollection and/or input of audio signals, and/or other audio inputand/or output devices.

The illustrated mobile device 500 also can include a subscriber identitymodule (“SIM”) system 528. The SIM system 528 can include a universalSIM (“USIM”), a universal integrated circuit card (“UICC”) and/or otheridentity devices. The SIM system 528 can include and/or can be connectedto or inserted into an interface such as a slot interface 530. In someembodiments, the slot interface 530 can be configured to acceptinsertion of other identity cards or modules for accessing various typesof networks. Additionally, or alternatively, the slot interface 530 canbe configured to accept multiple subscriber identity cards. Becauseother devices and/or modules for identifying users and/or the mobiledevice 500 are contemplated, it should be understood that theseembodiments are illustrative, and should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

The mobile device 500 also can include an image capture and processingsystem 532 (“image system”). The image system 532 can be configured tocapture or otherwise obtain photos, videos, and/or other visualinformation. As such, the image system 532 can include cameras, lenses,charge-coupled devices (“CCDs”), combinations thereof, or the like. Themobile device 500 may also include a video system 534. The video system534 can be configured to capture, process, record, modify, and/or storevideo content. Photos and videos obtained using the image system 532 andthe video system 534, respectively, may be added as message content to amultimedia message service (“MMS”) message, email message, and sent toanother mobile device. The video and/or photo content also can be sharedwith other devices via various types of data transfers via wired and/orwireless communication devices as described herein.

The mobile device 500 also can include one or more location components536. The location components 536 can be configured to send and/orreceive signals to determine a geographic location of the mobile device500. According to various embodiments, the location components 536 cansend and/or receive signals from GPS devices, A-GPS devices, WI-FI/WIMAXand/or cellular network triangulation data, combinations thereof, andthe like. The location component 536 also can be configured tocommunicate with the communications component 518 to retrievetriangulation data for determining a location of the mobile device 500.In some embodiments, the location component 536 can interface withcellular network nodes, telephone lines, satellites, locationtransmitters and/or beacons, wireless network transmitters andreceivers, combinations thereof, and the like. In some embodiments, thelocation component 536 can include and/or can communicate with one ormore of the sensors 524 such as a compass, an accelerometer, and/or agyroscope to determine the orientation of the mobile device 500. Usingthe location component 536, the mobile device 500 can generate and/orreceive data to identify its geographic location, or to transmit dataused by other devices to determine the location of the mobile device500. The location component 536 may include multiple components fordetermining the location and/or orientation of the mobile device 500.

The illustrated mobile device 500 also can include a power source 538.The power source 538 can include one or more batteries, power supplies,power cells, and/or other power subsystems including alternating current(“AC”) and/or direct current (“DC”) power devices. The power source 538also can interface with an external power system or charging equipmentvia a power I/O component 540. Because the mobile device 500 can includeadditional and/or alternative components, the above embodiment should beunderstood as being illustrative of one possible operating environmentfor various embodiments of the concepts and technologies describedherein. The described embodiment of the mobile device 500 isillustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

Turning now to FIG. 6, additional details of a network 600 areillustrated, according to an illustrative embodiment. The network 600includes a cellular network 602, a packet data network 604, for example,the Internet, and a circuit switched network 606, for example, apublicly switched telephone network (“PSTN”). The cellular network 602includes various components such as, but not limited to, RANs (e.g., theRANs 104-104N), BTSs, NodeBs or eNodeBs, base station controllers(“BSCs”), radio network controllers (“RNCs”), mobile switching centers(“MSCs”), mobile management entities (“MMEs”), short message servicecenters (“SMSCs”), multimedia messaging service centers (“MMSCs”), homelocation registers (“HLRs”), home subscriber servers (“HS Ss”), visitorlocation registers (“VLRs”), charging platforms, billing platforms,voicemail platforms, GPRS core network components, location servicenodes, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (“IMS”), the EPC network 106, EPCfunctions, the SDN controller 108, and the like. The cellular network602 also includes radios and nodes for receiving and transmitting voice,data, and combinations thereof to and from radio transceivers, networks,the packet data network 604, and the circuit switched network 606.

A mobile communications device 608, such as, for example, a cellulartelephone, a user equipment, a mobile terminal, a PDA, a laptopcomputer, a handheld computer, the UEs 102, and combinations thereof,can be operatively connected to the cellular network 602. The cellularnetwork 602 can be configured as a 2G GSM network and can provide datacommunications via GPRS and/or EDGE. Additionally, or alternatively, thecellular network 602 can be configured as a 3G UMTS network and canprovide data communications via the HSPA protocol family, for example,HSDPA, EUL (also referred to as HSUPA), and HSPA+. The cellular network602 also is compatible with 4G mobile communications standards such asLTE, or the like, as well as evolved and future mobile standards,including those described herein above.

The packet data network 604 includes various devices, for example,servers, computers, databases, and other devices in communication withanother, as is generally known. The packet data network 604 devices areaccessible via one or more network links. The servers often storevarious files that are provided to a requesting device such as, forexample, a computer, a terminal, a smartphone, or the like. Typically,the requesting device includes software (a “browser”) for executing aweb page in a format readable by the browser or other software. Otherfiles and/or data may be accessible via “links” in the retrieved files,as is generally known. In some embodiments, the packet data network 604includes or is in communication with the Internet. The circuit switchednetwork 606 includes various hardware and software for providing circuitswitched communications. The circuit switched network 606 may include,or may be, what is often referred to as a plain old telephone system(POTS). The functionality of a circuit switched network 606 or othercircuit-switched network are generally known and will not be describedherein in detail.

The illustrated cellular network 602 is shown in communication with thepacket data network 604 and a circuit switched network 606, though itshould be appreciated that this is not necessarily the case. One or moreInternet-capable devices 610, for example, the UEs 102, a PC, a laptop,a portable device, or another suitable device, can communicate with oneor more cellular networks 602, and devices connected thereto, throughthe packet data network 604. It also should be appreciated that theInternet-capable device 610 can communicate with the packet data network604 through the circuit switched network 606, the cellular network 602,and/or via other networks (not illustrated).

As illustrated, a communications device 612, for example, a telephone,facsimile machine, modem, computer, the UEs 102, or the like, can be incommunication with the circuit switched network 606, and therethrough tothe packet data network 604 and/or the cellular network 602. It shouldbe appreciated that the communications device 612 can be anInternet-capable device, and can be substantially similar to theInternet-capable device 610. In the specification, the network 600 isused to refer broadly to any combination of the networks 602, 604, 606.It should be appreciated that substantially all of the functionalitydescribed with reference to the network 600 can be performed by thecellular network 602, the packet data network 604, and/or the circuitswitched network 606, alone or in combination with other networks,network elements, and the like.

Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that concepts andtechnologies have been disclosed herein for multi-hop small cell autodiscovery for SDN-enabled RANs. Although the subject matter presentedherein has been described in language specific to computer structuralfeatures, methodological and transformative acts, specific computingmachinery, and computer-readable media, it is to be understood that theconcepts and technologies disclosed herein are not necessarily limitedto the specific features, acts, or media described herein. Rather, thespecific features, acts and mediums are disclosed as example forms ofimplementing the concepts and technologies disclosed herein.

The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustrationonly and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications andchanges may be made to the subject matter described herein withoutfollowing the example embodiments and applications illustrated anddescribed, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of theembodiments of the concepts and technologies disclosed herein.

We claim:
 1. A network system comprising: a network backhaul; a software-defined networking controller; and a radio access network comprising a plurality of radio access network nodes comprising an intermediate radio access network node and a new radio access network node, wherein the new radio access network node performs operations comprising generating an enhanced OFDP multicast message comprising a software-defined networking characteristic, and sending the enhanced OFDP multicast message over the network backhaul in a first attempt to provide the software-defined networking characteristic to the software-defined networking controller so that the software-defined networking controller can discover the new radio access network node as operational within the radio access network, and the intermediate radio access network node performs operations comprising receiving the enhanced OFDP multicast message from the new radio access network node via the network backhaul, and forwarding the enhanced OFDP multicast message over the network backhaul in a second attempt to provide the software-defined networking characteristic to the software-defined networking controller so that the software-defined networking controller can discover the new radio access network node as operational within the radio access network; and wherein the software-defined networking controller performs operations comprising in response to receiving the enhanced OFDP multicast message, updating a topology table based, at least in part, upon the SDN characteristic comprised in the enhanced OFDP multicast message.
 2. The network system of claim 1, wherein the network backhaul comprises a plurality of wired backhaul links.
 3. The network system of claim 1, wherein the network backhaul comprises a plurality of wireless backhaul links.
 4. The network system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radio access network nodes further comprises a further intermediate radio access network node, and wherein the further intermediate radio access network node performs operations comprising: receiving the enhanced OFDP multicast message from the new radio access network node via the network backhaul; and forwarding the enhanced OFDP multicast message over the network backhaul in a third attempt to provide the software-defined networking characteristic to the software-defined networking controller so that the software-defined networking controller can discover the new radio access network node as operational within the radio access network.
 5. The network system of claim 1, wherein the new radio access network node comprises a small cell node.
 6. The network system of claim 5, wherein the intermediate radio access network node comprises a macro cell node.
 7. The network system of claim 5, wherein the small cell node operates in within a millimeter wave frequency spectrum.
 8. A method comprising: generating, by a new radio access network node added to a radio access network of a network system, an enhanced OFDP multicast message comprising a software-defined networking characteristic; sending, by the new radio access network node, the enhanced OFDP multicast message over a network backhaul in a first attempt to provide the software-defined networking characteristic to a software-defined networking controller of the network system so that the software-defined networking controller can discover the new radio access network node as operational within the radio access network; receiving, by an intermediate radio access network node operating in the radio access network of the network system, the enhanced OFDP multicast message from the new radio access network node via the network backhaul; forwarding, by the intermediate radio access network node, the enhanced OFDP multicast message over the network backhaul in a second attempt to provide the software-defined networking characteristic to the software-defined networking controller so that the software-defined networking controller can discover the new radio access network node as operational within the radio access network; and in response to receiving the enhanced OFDP multicast message, updating, by the software-defined networking controller, a topology table based, at least in part, upon the SDN characteristic comprised in the enhanced OFDP multicast message.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the network backhaul comprises a plurality of wired backhaul links.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the network backhaul comprises a plurality of wireless backhaul links.
 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving, by a further intermediate radio access network node of the radio access network, the enhanced OFDP multicast message from the new radio access network node via the network backhaul; and forwarding, by the further intermediate radio access network node, the enhanced OFDP multicast message over the network backhaul in a third attempt to provide the software-defined networking characteristic to the software-defined networking controller so that the software-defined networking controller can discover the new radio access network node as operational within the radio access network.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the new radio access network node comprises a small cell node.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the intermediate radio access network node comprises a macro cell node.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the small cell node operates within a millimeter wave frequency spectrum.
 15. A small cell radio access network node comprising: a network backhaul link connected to a further small cell radio access network node operating within a radio access network controlled, at least in part, by a software-defined networking controller; a processor; and a memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising generating an enhanced OFDP multicast message comprising a software-defined networking characteristic for the software-defined networking controller to use, at least in part, to discover the small cell radio access network node as operational within the radio access network, and sending the enhanced OFDP multicast message over the network backhaul link in an attempt to provide the software-defined networking characteristic to the software-defined networking controller so that the software-defined networking controller can discover the small cell radio access network node as operational within the radio access network.
 16. The small cell radio access network node of claim 15, further comprising a transceiver that operates within a millimeter wave frequency spectrum.
 17. The small cell radio access network node of claim 15, wherein sending the enhanced OFDP multicast message over the network backhaul link in the attempt to provide the software-defined networking characteristic to the software-defined networking controller so that the software-defined networking controller can discover the small cell radio access network node as operational within the radio access network comprises sending the enhanced OFDP multicast message over the network backhaul link to an intermediate radio access network node, which, in turn, forwards the enhanced OFDP multicast message over a further network backhaul link in a further attempt to provide the software-defined networking characteristic to the software-defined networking controller so that the software-defined networking controller can discover the small cell radio access network node as operational within the radio access network.
 18. The small cell radio access network node of claim 17, wherein the intermediate radio access network node comprises a macro cell radio access network node.
 19. The small cell radio access network node of claim 17, wherein the intermediate radio access network node comprises a further small cell radio access network node.
 20. The small cell radio access network node of claim 15, wherein the network backhaul link comprises a wired link or a wireless link. 